I think one of the best places to start is the Ultra-Lounge's "Mondo Exotica" compilation. That way you can listen to a few varied artists and decide what you'd like to acquire more of and what you could do without. It's a good introduction to exotica for those who are unaccustomed.
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On 2005-04-28 11:43, johntiki wrote:I think one of the best places to start is the Ultra-Lounge's "Mondo Exotica" compilation. That way you can listen to a few varied artists and decide what you'd like to acquire more of and what you could do without. It's a good introduction to exotica for those who are unaccustomed.

I totally agree. Finding that CD at a flea market a few years back was a significant boost to my interest in tiki and Exotica music in general. A really great listen.
KG

Ultra Lounge's "Mondo Exotica" is a great start but definitely buy as much Martin Denny as you can. That to me is exotica in it's truest form. Next I'd buy "Voodoo" by Robert Drasnin, then hit the Arthur Lyman catalog.

The Ultra Lounge idea is a good one. And as strange as this may sound, check your library to see if they have it! Probably depends where you live but I'm in the Minneapolis area (which has a great county library system) and they had all sorts of Ultra-Lounge. I picked up one I didn't have -- Mondo Hollywood - and, accendently of course, burned a copy while playing it on my computer.

BUT a better idea is to listen to the Retro Cocktail Hour online at http://www.kpr.ku.edu/retro/. Darrell Brogdon plays a great assortment of exotica. And, with a little computer savvy, you can record the programs for play in your tiki lounge.

Then later on, after you get a feel for the genre, you'll know what to buy!